Hey, sorry for the long wait, but it seems I have turned into a veritable magnet for computer problems over the past weeks. Well, time now to resolve who will die on Virmire. I am back in business ;)
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The team had just entered Saren's private lab, but Shepard's mind was still at the encounter with Rana Thanoptis, the asari neurospecialist who had opened the way for them.
He had shot her. It had been necessary - she knew Shepard now had the genophage cure, and that was a dangerous knowledge. If she had been spared, and were to spread it, deliberately or accidentally, then this could have spelt certain death for Shepard. The Council would do anything to destroy the cure.
And it was not like Thanoptis had been an innocent. It was her who had led the brutal indoctrination experiments on the captured salarians. However, that was not in fact why Shepard had shot her. He had shot her for the simple reason that she had known too much. An action the likes of Cerberus or Saren would have done, people he always had held contempt for. And now he had done it himself.
He was interrupted from his brooding thoughts by Kaidan speaking up: "It's another beacon, Commander. Like the one on Eden Prime."
Shepard looked up. His eyes had caught the flickering green light before already, but his mind had not analyzed it. Now, he could see the beacon directly in front of him, a long-drawn construct surrounded by green light.
He knew what it meant: Information. However, how to best access them?
He forced a slight smile. "Well, Liara, that's your chance. You can get to see Prothean experiences first hand. And you do have the Cipher to, well, decipher them, don't you?"
"Ah, that's true, Commander," the asari answered, "I could try to directly access it. I can understand why you propose that." It would spare me another damn mindmeld, that's why. "But it might be unsafe. Those devices were constructed for Prothean minds, and even with the Cipher I don't know if I... I mean, we know you seem to be able to experience the beacons' visions with little ill effects, and..."
"So, I'm your lightning rod," Shepard commented, but his voice was actually friendlier than what could have been expected at such a comment. He realized Liara was right. They did know he could survive such an encounter, even relatively unharmed. There was no such guarantee for the asari.
"That would be a very crude metaphor, I think," Liara said, "I know it's uncomfortable for you, but it is a tried method, which we know - "
"It's all right, Liara," Shepard interrupted the archaeologist, who had begun to ramble, "I know what you mean." He sighed. "I don't like it. I don't like it at all. However, you're right: We know I'll survive whatever is in that beacon. We don't know so about you. So well, it has to be me. It's just annoying, that's all."
He sighed, and fixated on the green flickering light in front of him with his eyes. Slowly, he approached it. Unpleasant memories surfaced, of the beacon on Eden Prime, the transmission of the Cipher and the mindmeld with Liara. This would be no different. Again a contact with a Prothean beacon. Yet, it was unavoidable. It would be painful, and he feared it, but it was the only way to gain the vital information the beacon might transmit.
He silently cursed in all terms and languages he could think of, and then finally took the last step forwards and activated the artifact's holographic controls. Immediately, his body was jerked upwards, but he hardly noticed that. Instead pure information flooded his mind, too much and too complex for him to understand it all at once.
Again he only saw fragments: Forms and shapes and cities, metal and people and space. And a message. That was the core of it all, he could feel it: A message, to everybody. But he could not say what it was, and the flow of information only ever increased - it filled his mind with no stop until he thought his head might burst. Ever new images appeared in his vision, terribly vague images that hinted at something, yet he feared trying to understand it, feared for his sanity.
And then, it was over. His mind was free again, and his body no longer held. With a thump, he fell down to the ground. Fortunately, he managed to land on his feet, in a cowering position. Slowly, he tried to rise, but the world around him was spinning, and his muscles did not seem to belong to him. He felt groggy, like during a bad hangover. Like after he had graduated from the military biotic training. Or some nights after he had found Sarah's lifeless body.
He felt a something under his arm. Slowly, his senses returned to him, and he realized it was Tali trying to stabilise him. She had laid his arm over her neck and now tried to help him stand up. It was still difficult, but slowly and gradually Shepard managed to get up and stand straight again.
"Are you hurt?" Tali asked.
I don't know, to be honest. But instead he answered: "It's... well, Shiala's transmission of the Cipher was worse." He forced a grin.
Finally he had some stability and sense of direction again. He noticed how Tali hastily withdrew from him. He turned to Liara and said: "I... I'm not sure just what I've seen. I'm especially not sure what new things I might have seen. But it... felt complete." He shook his head. "So, who knows? Something good just might come out of this mission. Well, if we make it out alive with this new voodoo in my head, that is."
"That's true, Commander," Kaidan commented, "If you feel alright, we should continue."
"I feel well enough," Shepard claimed, even if he was a bit unsure about this in fact "And we have no time to waste."
That was certainly true, and moreover Shepard wanted them to finally get this damn mission over with. It had begun well enough, with the thought of near battle prompting him to finally have an open talk with Tali. A quick, tender smile hushed over his face as he thought of it. However, afterwards, everything had gone to hell.
He did not show it outwards, but it weighted on him that he had been forced to shoot the indoctrinated salarians, that he had been forced to shoot Rana Thanoptis. And more people would die because of his decisions, he knew. He had opted for a ground assault for the sole reason of securing Saren's genophage cure. It was secured now, but a price would still be paid, he was sure. Having chosen a ground assault would lead to deaths.
This all overlapped with the sense of certain doom the beacon had transmitted to him. As before, he could not distinguish facts in its visions, but he could feel emotions. Emotions of panic, a dire threat, and inevitable death.
Now, Shepard simply wanted to see this facility turned to radioactive rubble as soon as possible.
After the gangway's next corner it went upwards. After a further corner, and a further ramp, Shepard could see the gangway came to halt right in front of what looked like a giant, red holographic construct. He had no idea what it supposed to represent, it looked utterly alien. And whatever he had absorbed from the beacon's vision screamed within him at the sight of it.
"I have the feeling something bad is about to happen," Tali commented.
Shepard could not disagree. A console was standing in front of the hologram, but just as Shepard was about to touch it, a loud, booming and deep voice bellowed through the room:
"You are notSaren."
"What is that?" Tali asked, "Some kind of VI interface?"
That had been Shepard's first thought as well. The combination of console, hologram and voice communication would have fit. However, the voice continued:
"Rudimentary creatures of flesh and blood. You touch my mind, yet you cannot even grasp the nature of my existence."
"Well, that's not how VIs usually talk," Shepard commented, though this sarcasm was largely to mask his own shock. Wouldn't do to undermine team morale by appearing weak. He remembered the various uses of the visor he had bought on the Citadel, a piece covering his left eye similar to the one Garrus wore. He set it to recording and spoke up: "Identify yourself, hologram."
"There's a realm of existence so far beyond your own you cannot even imagine it. I am beyond your comprehension. I am Sovereign."
"Sovereign? The Ship?" Shepard asked. Then it dawned on him: "No, not just some Reaper ship. You are an actual Reaper, aren't you?"
"Reaper? A label created by the Protheans to give voice to their destruction. In the end, what they chose to call us is irrelevant. We simply are."
"You attacked the Protheans 50,000 years ago, destroyed their entire civilization, and then obliterated any evidence of your actions," Liara commented, or maybe accused the Reaper.
"The pattern has repeated itself more times than you can imagine. Organic civilizations rise, evolve, advance. And at the apex of their glory they are extinguished. This cycle cannot be broken. I have watched countless civilizations die, each of them defiant to the end. Each of them was destroyed."
"You claim to have personally seen all this?" Liara asked. "You claim to have lived at least 50,000 years? That's impossible!" Despite her strong rejection of the claims, Shepard could see how the asari became unsure. It was understandable. They were face to face with an almost mythical enemy, face to face with the doom of the Protheans.
"Organic life is nothing but agenetic mutation, an accident. Your lives are measured in decades or centuries. You wither and die. We are eternal. The pinnacle of evolution and existence. Before us, you're nothing. Your extinction is inevitable. We are the end of everything."
"And yet, you waste your words on us. Do you need to reassure yourself?" Shepard asked. He figured two things were most important right now that they had the opportunity to face the great enemy: Getting information, and reassuring the team. Shepard himself was pretty shaken, but this was not the time to show it. "Tell me, Reaper - what do you want? Why did your kind destroy the Protheans? Why do you threaten us now?"
"My kind transcends your very understanding. We are each a nation. Independent, free of all weakness. What we do is too great for your primitive senses to see; for your feeble minds to analyze."
"More mythical drivel. Entertain me. Let my try to understand," Shepard demanded. Such demands were preposterous, of course, he knew that. But they served to make the giant, alien thing in front of him appear his equal, or maybe even his inferior. And that in turn would serve to reassure the team.
"Impertinence born out of ignorance. What you try is irrelevant. You fumble in ignorance, incapable of understanding. The Protheans held ideas of resistance like you do. But they did not create the Citadel. They did not forge the mass relays. They found them, the legacy of my kind. Now you did. Your achievements are empty. We engineered them. Your existence is pathetic. You cannot hope to understand even the slightest facade of our actions."
"The Protheans got the knowledge to build the mass relay network from civilizations before them," Liara disagreed. Shepard wondered how this all must seem to her, the expert on the fall of the Protheans. Now she stood directly in front of the reason for it. "Your claim is empty. Why would you create the mass relays and then simply leave them to be found by others?"
"Your civilization is based on the technology of the Mass Relays. Our technology. By using it, your society develops along the path we desire. We impose order on the chaos of organic evolution. You exist because we allow it and you will end because we demand it."
"It's... Goddess, it's possible..." Liara muttered.
This was a giant revelation, a further detail that made the Reapers appear even more invincible. Which might have been Sovereign's intention, but who can imagine how or what sentient spaceships think? In any case, Shepard knew he had to intervene again: "And yet you are incapable even of only telling us why. Then at least tell us - Who built you?"
"We have no beginning. We have no end. Millions of years before your kinds evolved to their present primitive forms, we already culled your predecessors. Millions of years after you have long been forgotten we will endure. We are eternal, and the time of our return is at hand. Our numbers will darken the sky of every world."
" 'We are Legion, for we are many...' " Shepard muttered. Not exactly what he had asked, but he realized that there was no getting answers from that thing. "It doesn't matter. I don't think - "
However, he was interrupted. "Your words are as empty as your future. You cannot escape your doom. I am the vanguard of your destruction. This conversation is over."
A series of explosions shook the room, shattering its windows and destroying several electronics. Shepard covered himself best as he could, but in the end none of the explosions were dangerous to him or his team.
An amply dramatic exit for that thing, Shepard thought as he straightened himself. Sovereign's hologram slowly faded out.
Shepard's communicator peeped, and Pressly's voice could be heard: "Commander? We have a problem."
"I'm listening," Shepard said.
"The ship we saw on Eden Prime, the one you identified as 'Sovereign' - it's here," Pressly explained. Shepard could not quite suppress a thought of 'I know', but Sovereign's physical presence nearby was news. Bad news. "Came out of nowhere. Probably it was here the entire time and our sensors couldn't catch it. But now it just pulled a turn out of standstill that would sheer any of our ships apart. It's coming your way, Commander, and it's coming fast. You need to wrap up things as fast as possible."
"Understood," Shepard confirmed. "We're now on a time window. Keep us updated on Sovereign's movement. Otherwise, the old plan still stands. Ground Team out."
"I don't think any electronic device or stored data here survived," Tali spoke up. She was standing at the nearby console and had just checked it, "This console is totally fried."
"No reason to stay here then," Shepard commented, "Let's get to the target area, quickly. We've gotten unwanted attention."
As the team began to move and run Shepard risked a short glance back. He looked at the destroyed console. He had seen the enemy. He now truly knew what was at stake.
…
"One less to worry about" Garrus commented, as he took down his sniper rifle for a while. Again he had eliminated one of the advancing geth platforms with it.
"These long range distances aren't my forte," Shepard muttered.
After a tiresome way through the outside of the facility, the team had finally managed to reach the breeding grounds. Somewhere not far from here the nuke was supposed to be placed. In fact, the team had already taken over the AA tower of the breeding grounds, too - an important requisite for mission success, because the AA gun looked like it would be very well able to shred the Normandy to pieces.
"I just hope that our qu... - that Tali will be quick enough," one of the marines, Private Kowit stated.
Shepard could only agree. Tali had been stated that she might be able to not just disable the AA gun, but to hack it and take it over. Shepard had full trust in her abilities, but she had been working on the issue for some minutes now, and the Commander was keenly aware that during this time Sovereign was coming nearer and nearer. What was more, as soon as Tali had started working on the AA gun's geth console, enemy reinforcements had arrived and were now besieging the tower.
The team was already so near to the designated bomb site, that any wait of just a few minutes was nearly driving Shepard crazy. Sovereign is coming!
"Scoped and dropped!" Garrus announced.
Shepard sighed. "You'll have to teach me how to use those rifles one of those days, Garrus," he said while using his meagre pistol against the enemy.
"That's an ambitious order even for you, Commander" Garrus joked
"I got it!" Tali spoke up from behind, "The AA gun is ours to control now."
"Good work on the gun, Shadow Team"Kirrahe's voice could be heard through the team's communicators, "We're moving in."
"No more geth on the ground," Garrus reported, "We're good to go."
"Maybe we should wait for the salarians to arrive," Liara proposed, "to focus our forces."
"Not a bad idea, but we don't have the time!" Shepard disagreed, "You've heard Pressly, Sovereign's coming. We need to get to the meeting point!" He hesitated slightly. "Garrus, you stay here, to control the gun and receive the salarians."
"Aye-aye, Commander," the turian simply confirmed.
"Make the most of your sniper nest," Shepard commented grinning. He already had impatiently half turned to go. "The rest, with me."
The team, sans Garrus, assembled, and an elevator let them down the tower - directly to the heart of the breeding facility.
Shepard was surprised that as soon as he left the tower building he was stepping into water. Very shallow water, but still, it seemed the breeding grounds had been flooded - either as part of their design, or because they already had fulfilled their use. To both sides of him there were technical pods. They looked nothing like the sleeping pods aboard the Normandy, though. Instead, they were giant and crude.
That must have been where they have grown the krogan.
The team ran through the water. The designated nuke site was shortly ahead, and there was really no time to lose anymore.
"Geth ahead!" Shepard announced.
The synthetics had gathered at what appeared to be a large gate. And according to the map Shepard had his visor display, that gate was leading directly to the geothermal taps were the bomb was to be planted.
Resistance was actually fairly light - only some few light platforms, mostly those annoying, hopping Stalkers. But they could still delay the team.
"At them with everything you have, no long-drawn combat!" Shepard ordered. After the little enforced pause on the AA tower, everybody shields were fully recharged again. And the team just had no time.
The geth had no chance against the onslaught of seven charging organics. The team paid its price, as both Kaidan and Liara ended up with failing shields and lightly wounded. However, in the day and age of medi-gel, that was an acceptable price.
Shepard opened the gate. Despite the hurry, the team still maintained enough professional caution to get a good overview over the area behind before rushing in, but as soon as they saw that no geth was present, they rushed through the gate. Behind it was a comparable large and open space, flooded in ankle-deep water - the designated nuke site.
"Shepard to Normandy, we're at the rendezvous point," Shepard announced.
"We have you on our sensors," Pressly replied, "Joker is bringing the ship in right now. Looks like he'll manage to land very close to the planned location, too."
Shepard was expecting geth to jump them every minute now. Exposed as they were here, with the Normandy soon landing, it would have been a perfect territory for an ambush. However, no threat materialized. Instead, soon the Normandy could be seen swooping in from the air.
The hatch to the cargo bay opened before the landing procedure had been fully finished. Kaidan and his marines jumped aboard and helped some crew men to unload the modified salarian reactor core, which would now serve as nuclear bomb.
Kaidan looked somewhat distrustful at the device and handled it with the utmost care. Shepard could understand it - it represented a gigantic destruction potential. It could not actually detonate unless activated, but that was what logic was telling, not one's Lieutenant then turned towards Shepard and reported: "Bomb is in position, we're all set h...- "
However, he was interrupting by an incoming comm call by Ashley: "Commander, do you read me?"
"The nuke is almost ready, Chief," Shepard reported, "Get to the rendezvous point!"
"Negative, Commander," Ashley disagreed, "The geth have us pinned down at the AA tower. We're taking heavy casualties. We'll never make the rendezvous point in time!"
"Hold them off unt... -" Shepard began.
However, he was cut off by another comm call, this time Pressly: "Commander, our sensors pick up several incoming geth ships. They'll pin us down here on the ground!"
It had been agreed that it was a high priority that this should not happen. Shepard breathed out, cleared his mind and gave orders: "Pressly, get the Normandy into the air. We'll call you down again immediately before we need pick-up. Ashley, hold your ground. Kaidan, you and your marines will guard the nuke. The rest of you, with me, we'll go get Ashley, Garrus and the salarians."
Shepard had already turned and run as several aye-ayes reached him. The visor he wore over his left eye provided him with a tactical map overlay. According to this, Ashley, Garrus and the salarians had retreated to a roof top near the actual AA tower. Taking the elevator up the tower would hence not have helped. Another route, making a slight detour and using another elevator was necessary.
Some single krogan tried to stand in their way, but they had no chance. Even though the team now only consisted of Shepard, Wrex, Tali and Liara anymore, it more or less simply mowed them down and made their way to the elevator. There simply was no time to be left with long drawn out combat. Their besieged allies needed their help, and furthermore, Sovereign was coming.
As they were in the tower, Pressly announced over the communication system: "Commander, our attempted retreat has failed. The geth ship have intercepted us. Currently naval combat at knife fight conditions. We're attempting to get away from it."
That was bad. That was very bad. If the Normandy was destroyed then they would all die on this planet.
As soon as the elevator had reached its destination on the facility's rooftops, Shepard and his team hastened to get to Ashley and Garrus. It was still some distance to walk on foot. They had, according to the map displayed on Shepard's visor, reached half the distance, when Pressly's voice could again be heard in the communicators: "We've managed to break away from the fight, but so has one of the geth dropships. It's making straight for the nuke site!"
"Did you hear that, Lieutenant?" Shepard asked.
"Yes, sir, taking up defensive positions," Kaidan replied, "We're - it's here. It's starting to drop geth all over the place."
Shepard interrupted his running. Instead, now his mind raced. "Can you hold them off?"
"Negative, Commander," Kaidan reported, "The ship is still dropping enemy reinforcements. There's just too many of them." He sounded eerily calm. "I'm setting the nuke."
"The nuke? What..." Shepard began, but then interrupted himself and continued with a croaked voice: "I... understand." Damn you, Kaidan! And I told Ashley not to do any heroics! Yet, purely tactically it had been the absolutely right choice.
"Go get Ashley, and then get the hell out of here," Kaidan told the Commander.
Now Ashley spoke up on the communication system: "Belay that! We can handle ourselves. Go back and get the Lieutenant!"
Shepard had no doubt that Ashley with all the remaining troops at her side, including Garrus and the salarians, could hold off the geth long enough for Shepard to get Kaidan and then come back to her. However, when Kaidan had set the nuke, he had started yet another race against the time. It was the nuke that did not allow Shepard to pick up both groups, the one at the nuke site and the one at the AA tower.
He had to make a decision.
A brutal decision. Part of his mind complained about having to make them, but he was in command. It was his responsibility. And he had lost men under his command before.
However, so far he had not yet send anybody to their death. He so far never had been forced to choose who gets to live and who has to die.
"Kaidan, can you hold off the geth long enough for the nuke to detonate?" he asked. His voice was low and grave, as heavy as his mind.
"You've heard Kirrahe," Kaidan answered, "Once set, the nuke is practically impossible to disarm. And we certainly won't give the geth enough time to try."
"I know you won't," Shepard answered and sighed. "Ashley, tell the Normandy to meet us at the AA tower."
"Yes, Commander," Ashley confirmed, "Ah, I..."
"You know it's the right choice, Ash," Kaidan said.
"I'm sorry, Kaidan," Shepard stated quietly, just so loud enough for his comm unit to pick it up, "I'm glad you signed up despite... everything. I'll make sure your sacrifice won't be forgotten." Damn you, Kaidan! Damn you, Saren!
"It's been a pleasure serving under you, Jon," Kaidan replied, "I know you'll catch Saren. And make Udina's live a living hell, will y - ah, more of them..."
The contact broke off.
"Damn it all to hell!" Shepard cursed. It was a loud and angry outburst of emotion, surprising his team mates. He breathed out. "We'll make this sacrifice worth it." The words came out pressed. "Hurry, to the tower!"
Shepard stormed forward. He was angry at Kaidan's self-sacrifice, angry at the geth for having forced it, angry at Saren who led the geth. But now most of all he was angry at himself. A commanding officer in the field would lose men, nothing outstanding about that. But now he himself had condemned them, Kaidan and Privates Klein and Kowit, to death. It was never supposed to be like this!
He focused his rage into renewed energy racing through his body. Since Kaidan was giving his life for the mission, the Commander would now make sure that at least at the AA tower everybody would be saved - Garrus, Ashley, her two marines and the salarians.
The team had to go up another elevator, before they finally arrived at their designation. Just as they stepped outside the elevator, Ashley spoke up: "Commander, you need to move faster, we can't hold off those things for much lon... - Watch the corners! Suppressive fire!"
"We're here, Ash," Shepard announced and again started to run.
He and his team managed to hit the flank of a group of geth. The fight was quickly ended when Shepard aimed at a fuel tank near them and let it explode, destroying all near-by platforms. Heavy smoke rose over the battlefield.
The team ran further forward, now so near to their embattled allies - when suddenly a rapid succession of biotic bursts came through the smoke, out of the sky.
"Take cover!" Shepard shouted, and jumped behind a nearby crate. Where do all these crates always come from, anyway?
As the smoke cleared, Shepard could see their enemy: Saren himself, standing atop a flying board. He was glowing blue and throwing further biotic bursts. Which was odd, because reports had never mentioned him having biotic powers. He flew over the battlefield, and then turned around for another go.
Before Shepard could give orders to coordinate fire on the turian, Wrex spoke up: "Geth, behind us! At least a dozen platforms."
So much for concentrating onSaren. "Wrex, Tali, take care of the geth. Liara, with me, we'll take care of Saren," he ordered. He would have liked Tali to be at his side, of course, but he would not allow such sentimental wishes to get in the way of professional conduct. Technical skills against geth, biotic skills against organics.
He and Liara had just taken up their positions when Saren's airboard came flying towards them again. This time, however, it descended, and Saren jumped off it. Immediately, Shepard began to fire on the turian. The air flickered blue around the Saren, indicating very strong shields. The rogue ex-Spectre in the meanwhile simply walked calmly towards Shepard, and eventually the Commander had to retreat back behind his cover to wait for his shotgun to cool down.
Saren used this to speak up: "I applaud you, Shepard. My geth were utterly convinced the salarians were the real thr... - "
Before he could finish he was thrown into the air by biotic energy. Liara had finally managed to act.
Unfortunately, the turian seemed to have a counter for such attacks: His airboard moved on its own and transported Saren away. He came to his feet again behind another crate, now himself safely in cover.
"Ah, I forgot," he said. "Your dislike of parleys. I wanted to congratulate you on a very effective diversion, but it doesn't matter: I can't let you disrupt what I have accomplished here. You can't possibly understand what's at stake here."
"The entire galaxy is at stake here," Shepard replied angrily. "The Reapers destroyed the Protheans, annihilated them completely, and now they want to do the same to us. And you you're helping them!"
"The Reapers' victory is inevitable with or without my help," Saren claimed, "You've seen the visions from the beacon. You of all people should know what the Reapers are capable of. They cannot be stopped. The Protheans tried and were utterly destroyed. Trillions dead. But what if they had bowed before the invaders? Would the Protheans still exist? Is submission not preferable to extinction?"
"The Protheans were not the first civilization destroyed by the Reapers," Shepard countered, "They never let anybody survive. Do you really think you're the first organic to ever have those ideas?" Oh to hell with that. There was no talking to Saren. Liara's idea had been the right one. Shepard began to move behind his crate, in an attempt to find a way to get to Saren and attack him. With Sovereign coming and the nuke ticking there was no time for such frivolities.
"And do youreally think fighting the Reapers is a workable alternative?" Saren asked mocking, "We organics will fight even when we know we cannot win. We are driven by emotion instead of logic. That is why I never came forward to the Council with this."
By then Shepard had shifted to the opposite corner of his crate, and cautiously looked beyond it. There was an opening leading straight to Saren, but he was unsure whether he should risk exploiting it.
Oblivious to this, Saren continued his little speech: "But if we work with the Reapers - if we make ourselves useful - think how many lives could be spared! Once I understood this I joined Sovereign, though I was aware of the... dangers. I had hoped this facility could protect me."
That was a verbal, and maybe even psychological opening, so Shepard decided to use it before attacking. "A slim hope. Everybody coming in contact with it ends up a slave. And you know that. You're afraid it's controlling your thoughts - and maybe it already is, who can say?"
"I've studied the effects of indoctrination," Saren answered, "The more control Sovereign exerts, the less useful becomes the subject. That is my saving grace. Sovereign needs me to find the Conduit, so my mind is still my own - for now."
"Don't you see?" Shepard pleaded. "You're just a tool. You cannot even be sure how much autonomy you still have, after all it's all in your mind. And in the end, even if your mind is still your own, you'll be discarded as a tool, tossed aside with all the rest. After the galaxy has burned down, the Reapers won't need you anymore, in whatever form."
"Do you think you can sway me?" Saren asked. "Don't you think I already have thought about this? Sovereign is just a machine, it... -"
Screw this. Shepard charged. He unleashed a biotic warp at Saren and then stormed forwards firing. A moment later, Liara came out of her cover and joined the fight.
Surprised, Saren jumped onto his board and ascended skyward. It even took him a while before responding the fire. However, he was still protected by powerful shields, and now he was a mobile, airborne enemy as well. Saren's counter-fire soon proved to be devastating, keeping Shepard and Liara in their cover.
Shepard did manage to hit Saren several times, but he was hit himself, too and worst of all was all the time lost in the process. Ashley still struggled against the geth, Sovereign was still on its way, and the nuke was still ticking - and here he was cowering in covers from Saren's attacks!
Saren seemed to push the battle, too, though. Of course. The nuke timer works against him, too. His board flew ever more risky maneuvers, bringing him ever more often in range of Shepard's and Liara's guns.
Finally, he flew one maneuver too many. His board descended right in front of Shepard, who hit him with everything he had, until his shotgun overheated. Finally, Saren's shields came down - or rather, they overcharged. A strong energetic wave hit Shepard, who flew away and landed on his back.
Saren jumped from his board, threw away his weapons and pulled Shepard up his collar. His strength seemed superhuman, even super-turian. Helplessly, Shepard struggled in the rogue ex-Spectre's grip. He was reminded of the days of street fights in his gang days, but he never had fought anybody like Saren now.
Saren held Shepard with one arm over the edge of the rooftop. The Commander dangled above the waters of Virmire's oceans. Not like this, it wasn't supposed to end like this! Bad enough that Saren had beat him. Bad enough that he would kill him now. Humiliating enough that it happened in direct physical confrontation. But worst of all was what this would mean for the galaxy.
A klaxon call could be heard. The nuke! Saren was surprised by this and looked out from where the call came. This was all the opportunity Shepard needed: He hit the turian right into his face. Saren staggered back, and the grip on Shepard was ended. He came down at the building's edge, nearly falling down to the sea before pulling himself on top of the roof again.
While still kneeling, he drew his pistol and began firing at Saren, forcing him some steps back. And then he saw something else - Liara, Tali and Wrex came storming towards the fight. They finally seemed to have defeated the geth reinforcements.
Saren saw it, too. With an impassive face, he stepped on his board again, and flew away. Shepard fired some shots at him, but his or the board's shields seemed to have recharged some, and the bullets did not hit the turian.
As soon as the others had reached him, Tali spoke up: "The nuke..."
"I know," Shepard interrupted her. "Let's go get Ashley."
It was then that the Normandy came flying in. In an improbably precise maneuver, Joker brought it to a halt right above the rooftop, only a mere meter from the ground.
The arrival of the ship seemed to be a beacon call. Shepard saw Ashley, Garrus and salarians coming running toward it. He was immensely relieved.
As everybody was jumping into the open cargo bay hatch of the ship, Ashley came to Shepard and said: "Very glad to see you and the ship, skipper."
"Status report!" Shepard said.
"Captain Kirrahe is dead, sir, along with his entire team," Ashley reported. "Commander Rentola's team is blocking one of the access paths against the geth, I hope they can make it to here. As for my own team, two of the salarians and one Marine, Private Bethlen, have fallen. Everybody else is in a state to evacuate - well, as you can see, sir."
Shepard nodded. "Then go get onto the ship, too. You've done a good job, Chief."
"Have I? Kaidan now dies because of..." Ashley began.
However, Shepard interrupted her: "We'll honour his sacrifice. Now get your ass onto the ship!"
The last arrivals were indeed Rentola and the sorry, battered remnants of his team. Shepard entered the ship last, behind them.
He did not wait for the ship to move. Immediately, he stormed into the CIC. He almost pushed aside one of the crew as he took over one of the sensor consoles. He had it display a visual feed. Only seconds after he switched to it, he could see it on the screen: A huge, fiery blast tore apart the cloud cover over a large region of the planet. The nuke had detonated, destroying everything nearby.
Including Kaidan and two of his marines.
Shepard looked up again, but his shoulders slumped down. His mind was entirely empty. Not even thoughts of sadness or rage entered it. There was nothing to think anymore. It had happened, Kaidan had died, and that because he, Shepard, had condemned him to die.
There was nothing he could do about it anymore, either. Slowly, he turned away from the console. Pressly and Joker could get the Normandy away just fine, he was sure. So, he made for his cabin.
On the stairs he saw Tali in front of him. When she noticed him, she stopped and turned. "Jon..." she began softly.
Shepard however merely shook his head. There was nothing to think, nothing to do and definitely nothing to say. He tried to walk past Tali.
However, the quarian extended both arms and touched him at the shoulders. This made him stop, though he did not know what to do now.
Tali drew him into a comforting embrace.